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Monday, 22 April 2013

Frankie and the Springbok Nude Girls

Frankie and the Springbok Nude Girls
22 April 2013

I wish my Dad was still around
today.There is much I would have liked
to discuss with him.Questions I would
have liked to ask.

I would have enjoyed the
enjoyment he got from my kids and from seeing them grow up.He would have loved their quirkiness and
wacky sense of humour.He would have
taken pride in their accomplishments and would have been a fun grandpa to have
around.

As for me?There is much he still could have taught me
too.Good times we could have had
together.I would have asked him more
details about his incredible works of art.Where he got his inspiration from.As for the musical side of things?I would have asked him, how he managed to be so visionary.How he had the ability to spot a band or a
musical talent and just know with absolute certainty, that they were what it
was all about right now.That they would
be the next big thing.Truly it was a
gift.

I remember Grant and I driving up
to the Grahamstown Blues Rock festival, that my dad and my mom had arranged and
organised in 1996.And my dad absolutely
raving before the time, about this awesome new band that was just about to hit
the scene.He spoke about them non-stop.He said they were radical and had the most
amazing sound and stage personalities.That their songs were mind blowing, their sound so cutting edge.Their style unique, their vibe way out.Their name was the Springbok Nude Girls.

We drove through the night, and
surprised my folks in the early morning hours in the rental house they used for
the duration of the Festival.Still my
Dad went on and on about the band.And
thus, by the time the gig happened that evening, we were pumped.They had been built up so much, that we were
positively crackling with anticipation.

However, from the opening bar, we
were confused.Grant and I shared a
mutual horrified look.This was not
music!!!And we should know.We’re both music junkies and have always
been.Our taste varies from rock, to
alternative, to grunge, to blues, to you-pretty-much-name-it.But this?What was this?Arno, the front
man, screamed into the mike, his lyrics so distorted, we couldn’t make out even
a single word.Their show was
exceptionally energetic and they jumped, ran and really banged it all out on
stage.Volume was key.The guitars were screaming, the trumpet was
blaring, the drumming was loud, the vocals ear deafening.

And Frankie?Well, he stood there with a huge big
grin.Simply lapping it up and enjoying
every single minute.Grant and I shook
our heads at each other.Clearly old
Frankie had finally lost the plot.Yet,
when he intercepted our looks, we gave him huge big grins and happy
smiles.Even returning the big thumbs up
he showed us.

Yip, we thought he was cooked in
the head.

But, the funny thing, was that
Frankie was spot on.Once again.So very, very, very right.The Nudies were simply huge.And their studio songs were gaining lots of
airplay on the radio.What is more, is
that Grant and I absolutely loved their recorded music.We bought each and every CD they ever brought
out.We listened to their CD’s, cover to
cover, over and over and over again.We
eagerly anticipated every new release, and usually bought it the very first day
too.We listened to them at home and in
the car, even little Luke eventually knew their songs.

They were brilliant.Truly gifted.Visionaries and ground breakers in their field and their era.

And by the time, we saw lots of
them again live, at the 1999 Grahamstown Blues Rock Festival, we were nearly
acclimatised to their live performances.NOT for the faint hearted.In
fact, we even liked them a lot.Mostly
because we now knew exactly what words Arno was screaming into the mike.We also got to obviously meet the guys, as we
went up to Grahamstown to help Maggie in the office, and run the festival.Grant was part of the security team and I
helped with admin stuff.They were
genuinely nice guys.In fact imagine my
surprise when I discovered that Arno was able to have a normal conversation,
without resorting to screaming?It hardly
seemed likely that he was the same energetic guy on stage.

Still, I know with clarity, that
I would not have had the foresight, to be able to pinpoint with certainty, that
they were the going to be huge.Real
South African music royalty in fact.Arno is a musical icon.And the
fact that him and Albert are such good friends and have collaborated together
so often is amazing.They have a
wonderful friendship and often call each other “my brother from another
mother”.Their joint musical ventures
are beautiful and I include a clip from one of their songs, used on SA TV for a
Volkswagen Touareg ad.

Wherever my Dad is right now, he’s
bursting with pride.He would have just
been so blown away.

You did good Frankie.You did good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=uc53kOBtRAk
– Managing Mula.If memory serves, this
is the first song they played that very first night that we saw them.I could not make out even a single word.I didn’t even know the human mouth could make
noises like that.And in comparison to
the original live version of Grahamstown 1996, this is rather tame and mellowed
out.Still, you get the wacky slightly
distorted wha-wha type sound.

Frankie with his assembled crew. All of the bands together. Frankie seated in the bottom row, third from the left, with Maggie sitting between his legs. Such a proud moment for him. Some of the guys and bands there included the Nudies, Edgar our pal, Valiant Swart, Squeal, Urban Creep, Willem Moller (now of Searching for Sugarman fame), Dorp, and of course our very own Blues Broers.

Frankie the visionary - right in the front, with the white shirt, braces and signature fag in his hand

awesome! what an inspirational read. thank you! Any musical talent worth their steal in this country has, somewhere along the lines and chords, touched sides with one or more of these awe-inspiring legends. The level headed hierarchy of SA music that never frown away from a single fan. thank you.